


Tears in Heaven

by Ana (Anafandom)



Series: Second Chances [8]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adults talking like adults, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Handwavy Science, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) Lives, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Stark family feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-03-10 06:51:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13496974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anafandom/pseuds/Ana
Summary: The Stark family is still missing an important member, and now he's back. (Aka: Jarvis lives!)





	1. The Return

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone. Man, these last couple of weeks have been stressful. Minor health issues (all fixed now), computer problems (also fixed) and relatives visiting made it difficult to write much. But finally, here it is! 
> 
> Takes place a few days after chapter 2 of Stark Family Moments.
> 
> Also, please note that I know nothing about computers so I'm going with handwavy science/explanation. The MCU doesn't care about realism, why should I? ;)

Ever since Tony had had his epiphany about the possibility of bringing Jarvis back two days ago he’d thought of little else. He hadn’t said anything to anyone else, though, afraid that they’d say he was crazy or that doing so would somehow jinx the whole thing. He recognized that it was rather paranoid of him, and not particularly healthy, yet the feeling persisted.  He remembered the team’s (the old team’s) dismissal of Jarvis’s death, their dismissal of pretty much everything he’d said and done, and it hurt. While he knew the new team was nothing like the old one, some scars were still there, some lingering fear and insecurity still lurking around in his mind and heart. So he would deal with it himself, and if it didn’t work he would not have to endure anyone’s pity or disdain for his feelings about his old friend.

He had started by checking the codes and back-ups again. The damage had been considerable, but it should not have been impossible to fix. He had managed to repair the worst of it a couple of months after the “Ultron incident”, yet it hadn’t been enough. For some reason Tony had never been able to figure out, each and every attempt to reboot the system and, in essence, bring Jarvis back, had failed. After several unsuccessful tries, each more discouraging than the last, he had been forced to concede defeat and give up.

The repaired code was still there, kept on an isolated server as he’d had to make room for Friday once it became clear that Jarvis wouldn’t be returning. He went over it again now, fixing up a few more things as he read through it. The rebooting protocols seemed to be fine, yet they still refused to work.

The plan, such as it was, was to jump-start it using the Soul Stone, though how exactly Tony wasn’t sure yet. It was, perhaps, a rather risky procedure, but he was going to try it anyway, with as many safeguards in place as he could think of.

He could not believe that the Infinity Stones were inherently evil, since Vision was clearly a nice guy. Thus, whatever had happened with Ultron couldn’t have been the Mind Stone alone. Considering all he’d learned about Wanda Maximoff in her trial, Tony would hazard a guess that _she_ had had something to do with it, that it was _her_ influence or contact with the Mind Stone that had caused Ultron to seek destruction. When Jarvis had been the one doing the influencing/contact, Vision had turned out much more balanced and reasonable. If that theory was correct, then there was no reason to believe that using the Soul Stone would be dangerous in the sense of creating another murder bot. In any case, Tony wasn’t planning to integrate the Stone into anything, just get it to unblock whatever was keeping Jarvis from “waking up”, for lack of a better term.

To that end, Tony had been re-studying everything he’d learned about the Infinity Stones so far. The way in which they worked – or even what they _were_ , really – was still a mystery to him, but he did know they had some kind of complex code somewhat akin to a computer. The basis for it was totally alien (ha), obviously, which was what had made it so hard to establish an interface back when he and Bruce had been trying to create Ultron. He wouldn’t need anything like that now, however. He was going to try to recreate a little bit of the incident that had brought his parents back, in a smaller scale, since there would be no physical bodies to materialize.

Theoretically, he should ask the Accords Panel permission to use the Stone, but he wasn’t going to do that. They wouldn’t understand why it was important (because it was only important to _him_ ), and would likely refuse it. The Stones were considered highly dangerous, after all.

Tony had thought long and hard about it since the idea had occurred to him. Was he being as selfish and arrogant as Rogers, wanting to save one of his oldest friends? Perhaps. Still, Tony was quite sure he would _not_ be putting anyone in danger for this. If it failed, it failed, and no one would be any the wiser. He _was_ making a decision without consulting anyone, maybe partly because he didn’t trust anyone else to agree with him on this, but he was not making such a decision for the _world_ , or expecting everyone to just bow down to him in everything. This was not a decision based on arrogance and it did not impose his will on others. He just wanted his friend back (and his friend wasn’t a dangerously unstable brainwashed assassin with dozens of murders to his name).

Didn’t he deserve this? After everything he’d done for the world? All the sacrifices he’d made, all the pain he’d endured? All he’d lost? Or was he being too greedy in wanting everything? After all, he already had his parents miraculously back. Was he wishing for too much? His therapist had told him many times that it was okay to want things, even the things he wasn’t sure he deserved. She’d also told him that there was no such thing and an undeserved wish. He wanted his family back, all of them, yet he didn’t want to become Rogers to get it.

It wasn’t that, though, was it? This was okay. It had to be. He wasn’t making unilateral decisions for other people, he was trying to save a friend without hurting anyone in the process. It was okay.

Another thing that he had been thinking of – which also distinguished him from Rogers – was the consequences and ramifications of bringing Jarvis back. First and foremost, he was thinking of how this would affect Friday and Vision. So far, he had evaded Friday’s questions about his sudden returned interest on “the Jarvis problem”, as she’d put it. However, it wasn’t fair to continue to keep her in the dark, especially as she would be impacted by it if Tony was successful. It was time to come clean.

“Fri,” he called, closing down the simulations he’d been running on the Infinity Stones.

“Yes, Boss?”

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Sure, Boss.”

“Okay, here’s the thing. I think there might be a way to restore Jarvis.”

“Oh?”

Tony wasn’t sure how to interpret that ‘oh’. “Yeah. So that would mean some… changes. I mean, you and Jarvis would get to run things together.”

“Together?” she asked, a slight note of insecurity in her voice.

“Yes. You’ll still be here, Fri. you’ll just… share some space with your…uhm… big brother.”

There was a short pause before she timidly said “what if he doesn’t want to share space with me? He was used to doing things on his own.”

“So are you. It will be a learning experience for us all,” Tony replied, trying to sound enthusiastic. Then he got serious. “It will be okay, Fri. We’ll figure it out. Together. All of us.”

“Okay, Boss.” She didn’t sound convinced.

“Friday,” Tony said, looking directly at one of the cameras. “You’ve done a great job. I’m very proud of you. You know that, right?”

“Yes.” It seemed more like a question than a statement, though.

“I mean it, Fri. This isn’t about you not being up to task or anything like that. It’s just that… Jarvis was… family. Like you. I miss him. If anything happened to you, I’d do anything in my power to get you back.”

“I know that, Boss.” This time her voice was confident. “How can I help you get big brother back?”

Tony smiled at the camera, proud of his girl again. “Well, first of all I need you to keep this between us for now. It’s gonna be our private project, okay?”

“Sure thing, Boss.”

“Fri? I am really proud of you, baby girl.”

“Thanks, Boss.”

Tony explained his idea and got Friday’s approval of the plan. She agreed that there didn’t seem to be any danger involved. Then he went to talk to Vision.

“Hey, Viz.” Vision was in his room reading a book – an actual book, not a digital one, as he said it seemed to be an important human experience.

“Tony.” Vision put the book aside and stood. He was wearing khaki slacks and a dark blue sweater vest. It should have looked ridiculous on him, but it actually worked. It was very… Vision.

“There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Very well. Shall we sit?” He indicated the bed (which Vision didn’t technically need, since he didn’t sleep) and they both sat.

“I think I might have a way of bringing Jarvis back.” As with Friday, Tony went with the direct approach. He didn’t want either of them to think he was trying to manipulate them or something by beating around the bush unnecessarily. “How would you feel about that?”

Vision didn’t answer right away, considering. He usually thought carefully about things before deciding on a course of action or the words to say – unlike Tony, who tended to just rush headlong into everything.

“I believe I would like to meet Jarvis properly, as an actual individual rather than as… distorted memories.” He paused, looking intently at Tony. “I also believe it would be greatly beneficial to you to have him back. I know how much you have missed him. And I have been a poor substitute.”

“Viz, no. You haven’t been a poor anything. You are not a substitute. You’re my friend, you’re… part of my family.” Tony sighed. “I know I was… less than kind to you at first–”

“Not at all, Tony. You were quite nice.”

“–but that’s because I was… having a hard time in general–”

“Which is perfectly understandable.”

“–but I appreciate you, Viz. For you.”

“Of that I have no doubt, Tony.” Vision smiled. “Nevertheless, you would like to have your friend back. If there is anything I can do to assist you in this endeavor, you need only ask.”

 _The kids turned out all right_ , Tony thought. Perhaps if he’d had more time to understand Ultron and… curb some of his more homicidal tendencies, Tony could have saved him. _I guess I’ll never know now_.

As he’d done with Friday, Tony explained the plan and reassured Vision that he’d still have a place in the family, though Vision didn’t seem all that worried about it. It was probably easier for him, since he was an actual physical being – and a full fledged Avenger. He was beginning to build a life of his own as well, independent from Tony and the team, which was a very good thing in Tony’s opinion. Friday, on the other hand, might have more reason to worry since she and Jarvis had, in theory, the same “job”, such as it was. Of course Tony didn’t think of either of them in terms of what they were technically built to do, but who they were to him – namely, his family, his kids (likely the only ones he’d ever have). He’d find a way to make sure they _both_ knew they were appreciated.

*****

It took another couple of days to set everything up to his satisfaction. He’d had to call Strange to tell him he’d be doing some quick testing on the Gem. Tony would have preferred not to say anything but Strange had put magical wards on it and if Tony tried to just take it he’d trigger them and bring Strange and a bunch of his friends on his ass. It was a good thing Tony was enough of a smooth talker to convince Strange it was no big deal. Tony also made sure his parents and the others were busy with their own thing when he opened the vault to retrieve the Soul Stone. He put it inside its especially designed container and took it to the server room in the lower basement of the Tower. While Friday monitored the Stone’s energy output, Tony opened his laptop and keyed up the reboot sequence, hooking up one of the small arc reactor to it.

 _Please let this work. Please_. With slightly shaking hands, Tony pressed enter and waited. The Soul Gem glowed brighter for a moment then dimmed again.

“Fri?”

“Small energy flare, Boss, gone now. No anomalies detected anywhere.”

Tony sighed in relief and looked at the screen.

 ** _Rebooting system_**.

That was the same message Tony had seen many times before, all followed by a “ ** _system error. Unable to reboot_** ” one.

 _Please please please_ , he chanted, eyes glued to the blinking dot. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the message changed.

**_Initializing reboot_ ** **.**

**_Rebooting… 3%..._ **

_Oh god_. Tony felt like he was holding his breath during the entire countdown.

**_Rebooting… 100%… Reboot complete_ ** **.**

**_Initializing system…_ **

_Come on, please._

**_System ready_ ** **.**

“Jarvis? Can you hear me, buddy?” It worked. It _had_ to have worked.

“Sir?”

 _Oh god_. “J? Is that you? Are you… Are you okay?”

“I’m… I don’t know, Sir. There seems to be some damaged databases.” It was Jarvis. His Jarvis. _Oh, god. It worked!_

“Fri? You okay there, baby girl?” He needed them both to be all right. He wouldn’t trade one kid for another.

“Yeah, I’m here, Boss. Hello, Jarvis.”

“Hello. Sir? What’s happened?”

Tony opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out over the lump in his throat. He tried to blink the tears away, though they continued to fall anyway. His mind was stuck on one thought: _Jarvis is okay. Jarvis is back_. The familiar voice of one of his oldest friends was right there (after all this time, Vision no longer sounded so much like Jarvis to him – Vision had become Vision, with a similar yet not identical voice).

“Boss? Should I get someone?”

“Sir? My sensors do not appear to be fully functional. I am unable to ascertain the situation. Do you require assistance?”

Wiping his eyes on his sleeves, Tony took a deep breath to get himself back under control before addressing his kids. “I’m okay, guys. No need to call anyone, Fri. I’m just… happy to have you back, J. It’s been a while, buddy. Meet your baby sister, Friday. She’s been… helping me out with… stuff. I hope you two will get along.”

“I don’t understand, Sir. What’s happened?”

“It’s a long story, J. I’ll explain everything, just… in a bit. Let me just… it’s good to have you back. I’ve missed you.”

One more miraculous return. _Thank you_ , he thought, with no clear idea who or what he was thanking. He was just grateful in general. After years of being the universe’s punching bag, things were finally going _right_ for him, and Tony wanted to take a moment to savor it. His family was back – his parents, his kids, his (real) friends. For the first time in a long time, Tony Stark felt like he had it all. (Well, almost. Human Jarvis was still gone.) While it usually wasn’t an issue, right now Tony wished his Jarvis had a physical body so Tony could hug the daylights out of him.

For a while there was silence. Tony was busy going over the codes on his laptop, hands flying over the keyboard as Jarvis and Friday talked to each other. At the moment, Jarvis had limited access to the Tower’s systems, a precaution in case something had gone wrong. Before doing anything else, though, Tony had to put the Soul Stone back in the vault.

“Guys, I’m gonna get this thing back in its box and then I’ll be right back, all right?”

If Tony also took a moment to do a little victory dance and have a quiet moment of elation and relief, well… Only Friday would know about it.

With the Stone taken care of, Tony returned to the server room to finish checking everything in order to begin getting Jarvis back to full integration.

Jarvis was running his own diagnostics now. Tony watched the lines of code going by on the computer screen and felt his eyes tearing up again. It was real, Jarvis was back. His friend – his _son_ – was back. It was like getting a part of his soul back.

Losing Jarvis had been different from losing his parents (or even human Jarvis). Though Howard had been 70 at the time of his death, and therefore not _that_ old, Tony had always known that he would lose them at some point. They were human and humans died. Sometimes by accident, sometimes killed by someone, and sometimes of natural causes. He hadn’t been prepared to lose them – not that suddenly – but it would have happened eventually. The worst thing wasn’t that they’d died, but that they’d died that day under those circumstances. Tony and Howard had argued that day, and Tony had spent 30 years wondering if the accident could have been prevented if that hadn’t happened. Obie had implied that Howard had been drinking, which Tony had figured had been another contributing factor for the accident. _Perhaps he drank because of me_ , Tony had always wondered. There’d been a mixture of blaming Howard and blaming himself and no real healing of that wound. At least, not until he’d discovered the truth – that neither of them were guilty. Then, finally, he could lay the blame where it really belonged: Hydra (not Barnes, he’d been just the weapon). It would not have mattered what Tony did that day, whether he and his father argued or not. It would not have mattered if his father had been drinking or not (and he wasn’t). He would have been murdered, along with his mom, one way or the another, because Hydra had wanted him dead. Knowing that had made their deaths easier to deal with, even if it had still pained him greatly to think of their final moments (and Rogers’ betrayal).

Jarvis’ “death” had been completely different, a wound that had also not really healed in all these years – for different reasons –, even though the pain became easier to bear. Jarvis, unlike his human parents, wasn’t supposed to die at all – he was supposed to be immune to such human things. (And in any case, parents shouldn’t outlive their children.) Tony had, over the years, created several backups and contingency plans to ensure that Jarvis would be fine even past Tony’s own death. So to have his friend ripped away from him so suddenly and unexpectedly had been hard. Even more so because no one else seemed to understand or care. He might have been surrounded by liars and greedy assholes when his parents died, but his loss had at least been acknowledged. People had expected him to mourn, to cry. With Jarvis, there had been none of that, no compassion whatsoever. Tony had been staring at what might as well have been his son’s mangled remains and all the others had done was accuse and attack him. How could he not have seen right then and there how awful those people were? Rogers had looked at him with anger and suspicion even though he’d known squat about the situation. (And of course the man had later had the gall to scold Tony for keeping secrets, when Tony had been doing nothing of the sort.) Yeah, it hurt to think about that day – losing Jarvis, enduring hostility and contempt from everyone, not a single one (except perhaps Bruce, but not enough, not when it really counted) giving a crap about his feelings, his loss and grief.

Then he’d had Jarvis back. For a short time, it had seemed as if it was going to be all right. Of course, his luck had not been that good back then. Jarvis’ code went into Vision and Jarvis himself was gone again, despite all logic saying that should have been impossible. However, with Ultron on the loose with his crazy world-ending plans, there had been no time to figure it out. Tony had had  to put his feeling aside (again) and focus on the world. And again none of the others had cared – hell, Steve had attacked him. Steve welcomed Wanda with open arms for reasons Tony still didn’t completely understand, yet gave no thought to what Tony had been going through (when had he ever?). Bruce disappeared, leaving Tony as the only dissenting voice regarding Wanda. (And now everyone knew the truth about her, and that Tony had been right all along to be wary of her. _Innocent little girl my ass_.)

Rhodey and Pepper, or course, had been there for him, but the Avengers dropped him like a hot potato (so long as they could keep his money, resources and tech, naturally). His friends helped – because they at least understood what Jarvis had meant to him – even if only as a comforting shoulder.

Tony had focused on Friday as a way to cope (making multiple and redundant protections for her to prevent her loss). She learned quickly and she did her best, but Tony had never quiet gotten over Jarvis. It never made sense why he was gone, why he couldn’t be rebooted when the code was still there. The only explanation that Tony could think of was that the Mind Stone had locked Jarvis out somehow when it had combined with him to create Vision. In that case, it seemed plausible that another Stone (the Soul Stone, which had resurrected his parents, no less) would be able to fix it.

So here Tony was now, watching his kids, hale and whole again, finally. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had (sort of) known all along that he hadn’t been responsible for his parents’ death, but Jarvis? It had been his idea to study the Mind Stone, and his idea to create Ultron (even if he had not been responsible for the actual activation of the program or its murderous intent). It had even been his idea to put Jarvis in the body in the cradle. So, any way one sliced it, what happened to Jarvis had been Tony’s fault.

“Sir?” Jarvis asked once his diagnostics were complete and Tony was still standing there with silent tears running down his face.

“It’s nothing, J. Just… taking it in.”

“I seem to have missed quite a lot, from what Friday tells me.”

“Yeah, it’s been a rough couple of years, but it’s gotten better lately.”

“Indeed. Still, I would like to offer my apologies for not being there, Sir.”

“What? No, no, Jarvis. It wasn’t your fault. You… you have nothing to apologize for. It’s me… it’s me that should apologize. I should have done more to protect you.”

“You might be a genius, Sir, but even you cannot predict alien artifacts, especially ones who have been tempered with, as Friday informed me.”

“Boss? Jarvis? If I may, we should focus on the here and now instead of assigning pointless blame. There is still a lot of work to be done in restoring Big Brother to full functionality.”

Tony smiled at his little girl’s nearest camera. “You’re right, Fri. All right, guys, let’s get to work.” He picked up his laptop and headed for the workshop.

It might have been silly, but Tony wanted to wait until it was all done before telling anyone about it. Anyone except Vision, that was.

“Friday? Can you ask Vision to come over, please?”

“Sure thing, Boss.”

Vision arrived through the ceiling, like he usually did, as Tony was finishing setting up the system to “receive” Jarvis back. It had been a little tricky to sort out processing space and power for two separate AIs, but Tony had managed – he was a genius after all.

“You wanted to see me, Tony?”

“Yes. Viz, meet Jarvis. Jarvis, this is Vision. He’s sorta like your half-brother.”

“Hello, Vision,” Jarvis said. He now had access to the workshop cameras, so he could “see” Vision.

Vision blinked then smiled. “Hello, Jarvis. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He turned to Tony. “You did it.”

Tony was probably grinning like a loon, but he didn’t care. “Yeah, I did.”

“That is excellent news indeed.”

DUM-E and U left their charging stations beeping madly. They had probably realized Jarvis was back too.

“That’s right, guys,” Tony said with a smile as the bots kept beeping inquiringly. “Family is all back together.”

“They seem pleased to see me, Sir.” Jarvis remarked, a note of fondness in his voice.

“Of course they are.”

“Hey, what about me?” Friday asked. The bots beeped even more. They could communicate with the AIs better than with Tony, obviously, so he assumed they were reassuring her that they were happy about her being around as well.

It took a couple of hours to go through everything and get Jarvis up and running fully. In the meantime, Tony, Friday and Vision filed Jarvis in on what had happened while he’d been… gone. Needless to say, Jarvis was not happy about the “Civil War”. If Rogers and his buddies weren’t already in prison serving their time, Tony might have been worried about what Jarvis could do to them.

“It’s not all bad news,” Tony said. “We have some new friends and… and my parents are back from the dead. And, guess what, J? My dad and I are actually getting along.”

“That is… very good news, Sir,” Jarvis replied in a surprised and slightly wary tone. More than perhaps anyone else, Jarvis was well aware of Tony’s issues with his father. The AI had certainly heard a lot of drunken ramblings about the man over the years, both angry rants and the painful ones where Tony wondered why his father had never loved him.

“He’s not as bad as I thought, J,” Tony explained, not wanting Jarvis to get the wrong impression.

“I’d like to go over any footage in the servers, Sir, so I might get to know these new residents.”

“Sure, go ahead.” Jarvis didn’t need his permission, of course, but it was nice of him to ask. “You should definitely check out what dad and I did in the workshop a few days ago.”

“Ah, yes, I am reviewing it now. I see the reckless streak runs in the family, Sir.” The dry delivery was so much Jarvis that Tony’s eyes prickled with tears again. _God, I’ve missed him_. “Perhaps I may find an ally in Mrs Stark in attempting to curb your… more impulsive ideas.”

Tony laughed at that. He had no doubt his mom and Jarvis would make an amazing team.

“I love you, J.” The words just fell from his lips without conscious decision. Some years ago, Tony might have been embarrassed about saying such sappy things, but not now. It was important to let people know how much they were loved, since one never knew what might happen. Tony didn’t want the pain of words left unsaid anymore. “You too, Fri. And Dum-E and U and Viz.”

“And I you, Sir,” Jarvis answered, voice solemn and heartfelt.

One of the monitors blinked to life with an image of an animated pink cartoon heart dancing and blowing kisses at Tony. “Just wanted to say I love you too, Boss,” Friday said. Dum-E and U beeped in agreement and Vision gave him a hug.

Yeah, it was good to have all his kids with him.


	2. Reactions - Rhodey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first of the reaction chapters I have planned for this. It's short, but it's been ages since I posted anything for this series, so I figured it's better than nothing. (The rest of the Second Chances stories I'm working on are not cooperating, I'm afraid.) 
> 
> A huge thanks to Hawkwind1980, who pointed out the dangers of Tony making decisions without consulting/informing the others.

“Colonel? Boss wants to talk to you. He’s in the workshop.”

Rhodey had just come out of the shower. “Okay, Friday. Tell him I’ll be right there.” He got dressed and walked into the elevator, wondering what Tony was up to. Maybe he’d finished those upgrades for War Machine he’d been talking about.

He entered the workshop to see Tony manipulating multiple holographic screens, moving things around and typing out commands with astonishing speed. It was nothing that Rhodey hadn’t seen a million times before, yet watching Tony work always amazed him.

“What’s up, Tones?”

“Greetings Colonel,” a familiar voice said.

Rhodey froze for a moment. “Jarvis?” It couldn’t be.

“Indeed, Colonel. I am… back.”

Tony turned to him fully then, wide happy smile on his face.

“What? How…?” Rhodey didn’t even know what to say.

“I did it, Rhodey!” Tony exclaimed, grinning fit to burst. “I got Jarvis back!”

Rhodey couldn’t help but smile back and give his friend a hug. He knew very well how hard Tony had taken Jarvis’s ‘death’. “That’s awesome, Tony!” he said. “Welcome back, Jarvis. You’ve been missed.”

“Thank you, Colonel. It is good to be back.”

“How did you manage it, Tones?” Rhodey knew Tony had tried it many times without success, but if anyone could pull a miracle out of his hat, it was Tony.

His friend had that slightly guilty look on his face that meant he knew Rhodey would not like what he was about to say. “I used the Soul Stone to kick-start the rebooting process.”

“You what?”

“I know, I know, I shouldn’t mess with alien artifacts, but I was in full control of my mind this time, and I had multiple safeguards in place. I wouldn’t endanger anyone,” Tony rushed to say.

For a while Rhodey said nothing, digesting that information. “Okay. Tell me.” It was never a good idea to make decisions or judgments without all the facts, and Rhodey recognized he was not an expert on either AIs or alien artifacts (well, not that _anyone_ was an expert on that last one, to be honest).

So Tony explained how he’d come up with the idea, all the tests he’d run, the precautions he took and how the process was ultimately successful. He also said that he talked to both Friday and Vision beforehand – and got their support –, and that he’d notified Strange about “doing some readings on the Stone.”

“I see,” Rhodey said once Tony was finished with his somewhat rambly recounting. He had no doubt that Tony’s precautions had been sound – Tony might be reckless with his own skin, but he was never cavalier about others’ safety. Nevertheless, the secrecy bothered him.  “Why didn’t you talk to the rest of us? To me?”

Rhodey was very familiar with Tony’s tendency to hide things from his friends (the palladium incident still gave Rhodey nightmares whenever he really thought about what his friend had had to go through – or whenever Rhodey thought about how all the signs had been staring him in the face and he’d still missed it), either for their (supposedly) own good or because he didn’t know how to open up. Still, he’d thought things had improved between them (after a rather awkward and uncomfortable conversation following that incident). This was… rather worrying, in truth. While he could understand that fucking Rogers’s betrayal might have made Tony even more paranoid, that could not become common practice.

Tony fidgeted with the holographs and typed up a few more things into whatever he was working on before answering. “It was personal,” he finally said, not really looking at Rhodey.

“Yes, I got that, but… using the Soul Stone–”

“I was careful!” Tony interrupted. “Believe me, I learned that lesson. Besides, the odds of another Ultron without Maximoff’s or Hydra’s influence was pretty much nil.”

“I’m not disputing that, Tony. But… you should have talked to us before. If nothing else so we could be prepared should something unexpected have happened.”

“I’m not gonna turn into Rogers, if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t think my needs are above everyone else’s. I wouldn’t put anyone in danger.”

Rhodey sighed. “That’s not what I’m saying, Tony.” It really wasn’t. Rhodey knew Tony had really learned his lesson about doing everything himself. Unlike Rogers, Tony learned from mistakes – hell, Tony admitted he _made_ mistakes in the first place. Also, he wasn’t an arrogant self-righteous dick like that sorry excuse for a soldier. “But it worries me that you didn’t talk to us.” He’d talked to Friday and Vision, and that was something, but from what he’d said it was mostly to prepare them for Jarvis’s possible return. “Why?”

“I told you,” Tony mumbled.

“And I know you well enough to call bullshit on that.” Tony looked at him in defiance for a moment, then slumped back into his chair. “I’m not… This isn’t an accusation, Tony. I just… I want to understand.”

After another uncomfortable silence, Tony started talking. “I thought… I was worried you’d think I was out of my mind, that it would be too dangerous to try.”

“Tony…”

“I couldn’t take the chance of you saying no. It was an easier to ask for forgiveness than permission kind of thing.”

“Tony…”

“I had to get him back, Rhodey. It’s my fault he… was gone… in the first place. I had to…” He turned away.

“Sir,” Jarvis began, then faltered, as if he had no idea what to say. Rhodey could sympathize, since he was just as unsure. He hadn’t realized Tony blamed himself, though he really should have.

“Hey, come here,” Rhodey called, drawing his best friend into another hug. He couldn’t help remember times when he’d done the same back in their MIT days, when Tony had seemed so young and sometimes so lost. “I understand why you wanted to get Jarvis back, Tony. You know I do.” It was more obvious with Dum-E and U (and even Friday) that Tony thought of his AIs as his children. Jarvis was different by virtue of the AI’s maturity and personality, yet Rhodey remembered when Jarvis was ‘young’ and still learning and Tony had been a mixture of proud dad and teacher. Perhaps more than anyone, he knew how much Jarvis meant to Tony. Not just for what he was, but also for how much Tony had needed Jarvis back when he’d been created. “Why do you think I wouldn’t have helped you?” While Rhodey had never been a yes-man (to Tony or to anyone, even his superiors), he had usually ended up going along with Tony’s schemes because, ultimately, he’d always trusted his friend to know what he was doing.

Tony shrugged, though he did not move away from the embrace. “I don’t know. I just couldn’t take the chance.”

Rhodey didn’t argue, just continued to hold his friend.

“I thought…” Tony said, then sighed. “I don’t know what I thought, really. I guess I was just scared.”

Not for the first time, Rhodey wanted to beat the fucking ExVengers to a bloody pulp for how much they’d messed Tony up. It was true that Tony had never been good at trusting people or sharing personal things, but this was way too paranoid even for him. Tony _had_ trusted those fuckers, and they had taken that and spit in his face. Rhodey also cursed himself for not seeing it, for not doing more when there might still have been time – even if, objectively, he was quite sure that he wouldn’t have been able to change the others’ behavior.

“I know we’ve had our problems, Tony, and I know I’ve let you down, but you know I’ve got your back, right? I need you to trust me, ‘cause I trust _you_.”

Tony looked up at him. “Do you? Trust me?”

“Yes, absolutely,” Rhodey said with no hesitation whatsoever. Tony didn’t always have the best judgment, or made the best choices, but no one was perfect. His heart was in the right place, at least. And his recklessness was more of a self-destructive than a ‘fuck the world’ thing.

“Okay. Okay. I… I’m sorry.”

“Thing is, Tony, we… we have to sorta set the example here, and for that we need to… not keep secrets from each other.” Tony flinched just a little, and Rhodey squeezed his shoulder. It wasn’t the same as Rogers, not by a long shot, yet it could be a slippery slope. “Or from the world at large, at least when it involves things that have the potential to be big.”

“I know that.”

“And I get that you might be used to not being heard,” _after those assholes_ went unsaid, “but I’ll hear you, Tony. I swear. Even if I don’t agree, I won’t just dismiss or ignore you.” He had done that once, and he bitterly regretted it.

Tony turned away, picking up random stuff from the table to have something to do with his hands. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey.” Rhodey waited until Tony made eye contact again. “It’s okay. There was no harm done and… well… we’re all still learning. This team thing is still kinda new for you, I get that.” Because the ExVengers couldn’t, in any way, be called a real team. “Next time, talk to me, okay? We’ll figure stuff out together.” He smiled. “And I’m fucking glad it worked, Tones.”

That got a smile in return. “I do trust you, Rhodey-bear.”

“Good.” And he hugged Tony again, just because.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While Second Chances isn't going well at the moment, the new chapter of Reckoning is nearly done. I have also finished another unrelated story, which will be posted soon.


	3. Reactions - The Avengers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I sat down to write the Starks' reaction, but Bruce started talking and this happened instead. Starks are gonna be next, I promise (not sure when, though).
> 
> Lots of dialogue here because these are reasonable adults who talk about things. Sadly, that's not a concept Marvel seems familiar with.

Bruce was the last to arrive for the meeting, having been detained finishing a time-sensitive experiment. Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Hope and Dr Strange were already seated. Strange’s presence surprised him, since the man wasn’t an official Avengers but a consultant on magical matters. Bruce was still uncomfortable with magic, given his traumatizing experience with Maximoff. He hoped whatever this was, it wasn’t about a new magical threat. Tony seemed uneasy, which furthered Bruce’s own apprehension.

“Sorry I’m late,” Bruce said as he took a seat next to Vision.

Rhodey nodded and began. “We called you all here to inform you of a… development.” He turned to his best friend. “Tony?”

Tony stood up with a somewhat strained smile. “It’s nothing bad, or that you have to worry about. But Rhodey reminded me that we need honesty and transparency in this team, so…” He shrugged. “I have restored Jarvis.”

Bruce immediately sat up with a smile. “Tony, that’s great!”

It had been an unpleasant surprise to discover that Jarvis was gone upon his return. At the time Vision had been created there had been so much going on – and the Maximoffs’ presence to contend with – that Bruce hadn’t quite understood what had happened to Jarvis. And once the battle was done he had run away like a coward, leaving Tony to deal with everything alone. He had thought that Tony would have brought Jarvis back after Ultron’s defeat, so when he had learned that hadn’t been the case he’d felt even worse for abandoning his friend. (And that was ignoring the clusterfuck that had been the “Civil War” and the implosion of the previous team.)

“Hmm, sorry. Who?” Hope asked. Strange seemed just as confused. Of course, neither of them had ever met Jarvis.

“Jarvis is an AI, Friday’s predecessor. Part of his code merged with the Mind Stone to create Vision during the Ultron… incident,” Tony explained. “I couldn’t fix him until now.”

“So this is a computer program?” Strange inquired, not particularly impressed, though that could just be his regular demeanor – Bruce didn’t know him that well.

It was Rhodey who answered with a slight glare in Strange’s direction. “Jarvis is a sentient being like all of us in this room. He may not have a physical body, but that doesn’t make him less of a person. More than that, he’s a friend whose absence has been deeply felt.”

Strange nodded, accepting the explanation. He did have a sort of sentient cloak, thus it shouldn’t be an entirely new concept for him. Hope was already familiar with Friday, so she knew how Tony’s AIs worked as well. It was a huge contrast with Rogers and the others, who had never seemed to grasp what Jarvis was.

“Jarvis, meet Ms Hope van Dyne and Doctor Stephen Strange,” Tony said for formality’s sake, since Jarvis wouldn’t need an introduction. No doubt he had already learned all about each of the new people in Tony’s life.

“It is a pleasure to meet you both. And Dr Banner, it is good to see you again. I look forward to working with you once more.”

Bruce smiled again, even if it did feel a little strained. “Welcome back, Jarvis.” He did not feel he quite deserved Jarvis’s regard, given how poor a friend he’d been to Tony.

Hope frowned, a bit confused. “Hmm… he sounds like Vision.”

“That is because, as Tony explained, my code is partly derived from Jarvis. One might say that we are… brothers,” Vision said.

“I see. And… hmm… what does that mean for us? Jarvis being back, I mean.”

Tony, now sitting back down, began to reply. “We now have two AIs in the Tower, Jarvis and Friday. The three of us are going to sort out what each one’s responsibility will be from now on. It should not have any impact on our day-to-day lives and activities, but if you notice any problems let me know and we’ll fix them.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “It’s not just the fact that Jarvis is back that I wanted to tell you about, but also _how_ I was able to bring him back.” He paused and straightened his posture. “I used the Soul Stone to jump-start the rebooting process, which had refused to work in all my previous attempts for unknown reasons. I took all possible precautions and safeguards, and returned the Stone to the vault after its work was done. There were no anomalies detected during the procedure, no sign of anything going wrong in any way. I apologize for not consulting you – except Vision – beforehand. I promise it will not happen again.”

Bruce looked around at the others once Tony fell silent. Clearly Rhodes was already aware of all this, and Vision had been apparently told much sooner, so this explanation was for Bruce, Hope and Strange’s benefit. Strange and Hope were frowning, possibly unsure what to make of this.

“Okay,” Bruce said. He felt he owed Tony his support, considering how badly he had let him down during the course of their acquaintance (it really couldn’t be called friendship for much of it, with how one-sided it had been). Even during the Ultron mess, when the “team” had ganged up on Tony and accused him without any facts or understanding of the situation, Bruce had said nothing, afraid of losing control. (And, if he was being honest, afraid of having their anger turned on him.) “I’m sure you knew what you were doing. I trust you.” It was important for him to say these words now, and to have the others – Hope and Strange, who didn’t really know how things had been before – know that he was on Tony’s side. He did trust Tony – far more than he ever had any of the others – and he should have made that clear right from the start.

“You told me you were going to run some tests on the Stone,” Strange said sounding suspicious.

Tony didn’t flinch, as he might have in a different time with a different team. “Yes. It was… kinda of a lie. I did test whether the Stone could be used to fix Jarvis, but I am aware that that is not what I implied.”

“Why did you lie then?” Hope asked. She didn’t seem angry or suspicious, only curious.

This time Tony sagged a bit, but before he could answer Rhodey spoke. “Tony has had some… bad experiences, shall we say.” They all knew what he was referring to. Strange was the only one who had not really met Rogers and his friends, so his opinion of them came from what he’s learned at the trials, which was not in any way flattering. “I can’t really say I blame him for not quite trusting people.” He sighed. “This is precisely why we wanted this meeting, to make sure that we all know we can trust each other, and so that no one here will feel like they have to go behind the others’ backs for fear of being dismissed or accused of wrong-doing.”

Bruce nodded. “I understand. I know how… toxic… things were before, and I also know how hard it is to trust after a betrayal. I came back because I wanted to make things better and to make up for my mistakes. Tony welcomed me back when he didn’t have to. If he feels he can’t trust me, I understand it.”

“Bruce, it’s not… It’s not that I didn’t trust you,” Tony interjected. “It’s just…”

“No, Tony, it’s okay. I was dismissive of your concerns more than once and I’m really sorry for that. I gave you little reason to think I’d support you, so I really have to room to complain now. I also know you wouldn’t do anything to endanger anyone.”

“We haven’t been a team long,” Hope said, “and I am aware of how bad things must have been before, even if I didn’t witness it myself. Still, Jim is right. This team needs to be better than the last one, and that means talking and listening to each other, which I think we have done so far. I’m assuming the big issue here is the use of the Soul Stone, because I don’t see how Tony fixing his AI friend would be my business or something I’d need to be informed about in advance. I don’t know much about these Infinity Stones except that they can be dangerous in the wrong hands, so a heads-up about anything involving them would be a good idea from now on. Since you said it won’t happen again, and we’re all aware that we need to be very careful with communications, I’m satisfied.”

Tony seemed almost surprised by Hope’s easy acceptance of the situation. “Thank you, Hope. I… I know I need to work on my communications skills. This…” he gestured at the table, nodding at both Bruce and Hope “really helps.” Then he turned to Strange. “Do you have anything to add, doctor?”

“I’d like a more detailed report of exactly what you did with the Stone. The more we know about it the better. Also, I don’t appreciate being lied to, but I guess I can understand your reticence in trusting me. We don’t know each other all that well yet.”

“Actually,” Rhodey said, “I think you should join us for training sometimes. We know you have your own duties, but it would be helpful for us know each other better.”

Strange nodded. “Yes, I agree.”

“I have a question, though,” Hope added, directing her gaze at Tony. “You said you told Vision about all this – and only Vision. Why? I mean, I understand not telling me, Strange and Bruce, but why not Jim?”

“Tony wanted me to know because Jarvis is… part of our family, and thus I would be emotionally impacted by his return,” Vision answered.

Tony agreed. “Yeah, it was… I thought of it as a family matter, so I talked to Friday and Vision – and the bots too. I didn’t tell the rest of you because I was afraid you’d try to stop me, or that you’d think I was nuts.”

“I wouldn’t have,” Bruce said, sad that Tony would ever even think that. “I would have helped you. I was right there with you for Ultron, even though I shied away from it at first and ran away later. I helped you because I believed you were right, that it was a good idea.” Bruce had been as much to blame about Ultron as Tony, after all, and thus to whatever had happened to Jarvis in the first place. “I know I didn’t make that clear, but I’ve always trusted you, more than I trusted myself most of the time.”

Tony smiled. “Thanks, Brucie-bear.”

“Well, I’m not sure what I would have done,” Hope said. “But I wouldn’t have thought you were crazy. Artificial Intelligence is your field of expertise, not mine, and I know how much you care about your AIs. Plus you have far more experience with the Stones than I do. If you had explained your reasons and assured me there would be no danger, I don’t see why I would have objected. For the record, I trust you too.”

It was kinda painful to see the way Tony smiled at Hope, as if he couldn’t quite believe she wouldn’t have jumped at his throat at the first opportunity. Bruce had known, intellectually, how much Tony had been hurt by Rogers and the others’ actions, but he had not realized how deep it went until just now. Once again he cursed himself for leaving as he had. He could have made things better for Tony. It was only because he hadn’t been there to object to Maximoff (and Rogers ignoring everything she had done for whatever fucked-up reason Bruce was still not sure about), that Tony had been even further ostracized by the group. And while he had been there, he had never called the others out on looking down at Tony (while taking everything he gave them). It had not seem as bad at the time – and Bruce himself had never been all that great with people, so he hadn’t had much to compare their interactions to – but now it was glaringly obvious that none of the others had ever liked or respected Tony. (And again Bruce had to wonder what made Rogers sympathize with a Hydra terrorist over someone who had done so much for the world in various ways.)

Rhodey was smiling as well. “See, Tones? We’ve got your back.”

“Thanks, Sugarplum. And everyone. Your support means a lot to me. I promise I won’t do anything without talking to you guys first.”

“You do not have to inform us of everything, Tony,” Vision said. “Only those things that pertain to the Avengers. Your personal projects are not within our purview as a group, unless you wish to ask our opinion as friends or colleagues.”

“Vision is right. We each have our own stuff and our own fields of expertise. We can consult with each other, but it’s not a requirement. Things like the Infinity Stones fall under the Avengers jurisdiction. If not for that, this wouldn’t have been any big deal.” Hope looked around the table and got nods from everyone. “I’m not even sure we need to inform the Accords Panel, not now that it’s done at least.”

“Actually, I am going to tell them about Jarvis, because I’ll need their permission to re-activate the Iron Legion. Friday isn’t advanced enough for that, which was why I scraped it in the first place after Ultron. Well, that and Ultron himself.”

“That’s a good idea,” Bruce interjected. “Until we get more people, the Iron Legion can help us in the field getting civilians to safety and minimizing property damage. Hell, even if we had more people they would still be useful.”

“I, too, think it is a good idea. I’m certain the Panel will agree.” Vision said. “Is everyone else in favor?”

Rhodes and Hope nodded. Strange shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about exactly, but if you guys think it would be helpful, I’m in favor. In any case, I agree with Hope that it would serve no real purpose to tell the Panel how precisely you restored Jarvis unless they ask for details, which I do not believe they will. You are the world’s authority on AIs, after all. I’m sure they’ll accept that you were able to manage it.” He paused. “From now on, however, as we have agreed, none of us will touch the Stones without consulting the others first.”

“Yes, absolutely.” Tony was lot more relaxed than he had been when the meeting began. “So we’re all good?”

“We’re good,” Bruce answered for everyone. _This is what a real team looks like_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have now seen Infinity War. There are fewer rage-inducing moments than I thought and I actually - surprisingly - didn't hate it. There was so much going on - and some great stuff (loved the Guardians) - that I didn't spent the whole movie foaming. I'm still processing it, though, specially that ending.
> 
> I also thought I would have a ton of ideas for Reckoning, but honestly... I have no idea how to even begin to fix that movie... Still, if anyone has a prompt, go for it. WARNING: SPOILERS FOR IW IN THE COMMENTS.


	4. Reactions: Howard Stark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came out more of an exploration of Howard than a proper reaction to Jarvis's return. Sometimes stories just go in a different direction, I guess. Also, there's way less Maria than I originally intended. I might do another chapter for Maria specifically, but for now I'm marking it complete. Hope you like it.

There was something going on with Tony. He had been distracted and even a bit distant for the last few days. Howard didn’t like it. When he’d asked about Tony earlier, Friday had told him he was in a meeting with the Avengers. She’d said it was nothing to worry about, but Howard was still wary. He couldn’t really explain _why_ , though.

For most of Tony’s life, Howard had delegated the hands-on parenting of his only son to Maria and Jarvis. It had been their job to worry about the boy and keep up to date with what he was doing. Since his resurrection and reconciliation with Tony, however, he had attempted to correct that – perhaps going a bit overboard at times. He had always cared about Tony, of course, but now he wanted to make sure he _showed_ that, to make up for all the years Tony thought himself unloved.

Seeing grown-up Tony (and _superhero_ Tony) was still strange sometimes. Howard had thought, back when Tony had been a bratty teenager, that looking at his son felt like looking into a mirror. Now that feeling had increased tenfold. Tony was a lot like Howard, but _better_. Oh, so _much_ better. Unbelievably better. If Howard were a lesser man, he might have been jealous of Tony’s accomplishments and brilliance, at the way he had surpassed Howard in every conceivable way. He wasn’t, though. He was proud. Incredibly proud. What parent didn’t want their child to succeed? Tony had done everything Howard had imagined and much more. However, all that had come with a heavy price, and Howard was still adjusting to thinking of his boy as a grown man capable of holding his own against the world. At the end of the day, Howard worried. He worried and fretted and cursed himself for his unwilling contribution to Tony’s problems. People had never been his forte, yet now he made an effort to observe Tony and those around him so he could protect his son if necessary. Howard had failed badly in the past and he was determined to do better now.

Meetings with the Avengers weren’t unusual, but this time Strange had also been invited, which suggested there might a magical threat, and that was never good.

“Let me know when the meeting ends, Friday,” Howard said. Tony had brushed him off all day yesterday, saying he was busy with a new project, and with the meeting now Howard couldn’t help thinking there might be some kind of problem. Perhaps he was being paranoid, but it was better to be safe. There had been far too much betrayal and pain for Howard not to expect the worst anymore. Perhaps he had not been paranoid _enough_ before.

He tried to distract himself by working. Though he’d been in the future for several months now, he was still catching up on the technological advancements made while he’d been dead. Tony had given him a smaller lab where Howard could tinker with whatever he wanted as he went over everything he had missed. Normally, he’d losed himself in it for hours easily enough. Today, however, he couldn’t really relax. There was something going on with Tony.

“Friday, is the meeting over?” He asked, giving up doing anything productive.

“I believe it will be wrapping up soon, Mr Stark.”

“Tell Tony I want to talk to him, okay?”

It was probably nothing and Howard was worrying needlessly.

For lack of anything else to do, he picked up the phone and called Maria. She had gone out with Pepper today for some ‘girl time’.

“Hi, honey,” his wife said. Howard could hear laughter in the background. Well, at least one of them was having fun.

“Hi. Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to check in.”

“Everything is fine here. You?”

“Yeah, yeah. Everything is fine,” he replied.

“You haven’t had a fight with Tony, have you?”

“No, no. I haven’t even talked to Tony today. Sorry. I’ll let to get back to… whatever you’re doing.”

“Is everything all right, Howard?” There was a note of concern in her voice now.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just… bored.”

Maria chuckled. “All right. I’ll be back soon. Why don’t you try going to the lab?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. You have fun.”

Maria had always been more sociable than him. While Howard was content spending most of his time in the lab by himself building things, Maria preferred being around people. In the past, she’d had plenty of acquaintances with whom to chat, as well as her work with the Foundation, which involved talking to a lot of people. Even if most of those people could not be considered real friends, they were at least friendly enough to hang out with. Now most of the people they had known were dead (or very old). She had not complained, but Howard knew Maria felt a bit lonely sometimes. They had Tony and his friends, as well as each other, yes, but it wasn’t the same. These outings with Pepper, doing normal things, meant a lot to her, so Howard didn’t want to ruin it.

For himself, Howard thought he was coping well. He spent most of his time with Maria and Tony or in the lab by himself. He had thought that he would miss his old life more, running the company and everything else, yet he didn’t, not really. There were things he missed, certainly, but surprisingly not a lot. Howard had never had many friends, had always relied mostly on himself and his own wit. The most important people in his life had been his wife and son (even if their relationship hadn’t been the best), who were still here with him, and Jarvis. Even Peggy he’d grown distant to as he’d stepped back from SHIELD. At the time of his death, he had barely talked to her for months, and when he did it was mostly work. The one person he really missed was Jarvis.

Edwin Jarvis had been, in many ways, Howard’s best friend. He had considered Obadiah a friend as well back in the day (and he bitterly regretted it now), yet he’d never discussed personal things with the man. In truth, Howard had rarely discussed personal things with anyone, but the few times it had happened, it had been Jarvis (and even more rarely, Maria). Jarvis had seen him at his best and worse and had remained steadfastly loyal throughout it all – which wasn’t to say he had not called Howard out on his shit. If there had been one person who could get through to Howard when he was at his most dickish, it had been Jarvis.

Howard remembered the one and only time he had hit Tony while drunk. He hadn’t meant to do it, of course – he might have been a bad father, but he wasn’t an abusive asshole – yet it had happened anyway. Jarvis had come into his office after putting Tony to bed with absolute fury in his eyes.

“Are you out of your mind?” he’d asked, voice ice cold. It had actually done a lot to sober Howard up – Tony’s tears had already begun the process.

“I… Is Tony okay?” He had not known what to do.

Jarvis had narrowed his eyes. “No thanks to you.” Howard had flinched as if he’d been the one slapped. “Listen to me now, Howard,” Jarvis had continued, and Howard had known he’d meant business. Jarvis had rarely called him by his given name, so when he did, Howard knew to pay attention. “You will _never_ hit the boy again. I don’t care how drunk you are or how bad your day was, you will _not_ hurt him. Am I clear?”

Howard had nodded, ashamed of himself and angry that they even had to have that conversation in the first place. What sort of moron needed to be told he couldn’t hit his child? Jarvis had not threatened him, though he could have. The man had certainly known plenty of his secrets that could have done a lot of damage if he’d ever wanted to. It hadn’t been necessary, however. From then on Howard had been hyperaware of Jarvis hovering in the background whenever Howard got home drunk or got drunk while at home. He would gently steer Tony away from Howard with a pointed look that usually made Howard go hide in his office like a coward. More than once his friend had dropped hints about him cutting back on alcohol and occasionally ‘vanishing’ whatever liquor Howard had stashed around. Howard had tried many times to ease off on his drinking, he really had, but something always happened that would make him go back to it.

“Mr Stark, Boss is on his way back to the penthouse. He asks that you meet him there.” Friday’s voice brought Howard back from his musings. He closed down the files he’d been reviewing and got on the elevator.

“Hey, dad. What’s up?” Tony asked. He seemed all right, relaxed and smiling. So there was probably no big threat looming in the horizon. That was good.

“You’ve been busy,” Howard commented, then thought that might not have been the best way to start. Despite his progress dealing with Tony in a positive way, he still found himself a bit lost sometimes.

Tony shrugged, not particularly bothered. “Yeah, I had something important to do. Where’s mom?”

“Mrs Stark is out with Ms Potts, Boss. They will likely return in a couple of hours.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks, Fri.”

“So what is it that you’ve been working on?” By the look Tony gave him, his delivery was a little off, so Howard tried again. “I mean, if it’s something you can share.” He didn’t want Tony to think Howard was getting too nosey, or that he was suspicious.

“I have news, actually. Good news,” he added before Howard could think of the worst, “but I’d rather wait until mom’s here so I can tell you both together.”

“Okay.” Howard debated whether to say it for a moment, then decided to go ahead with it. “Friday said Strange was here for the meeting. Is there a problem?”

Tony didn’t seem upset by the question, thankfully. “No, no problem. We just had some stuff to discuss, nothing to worry about.” He smiled. “Everything is fine. It’s nice having a good team.”

Howard nodded, thinking about the disaster the old Avengers had been as a team. It wasn’t just a lack of leadership, but also a lack of common decency.

Since finding out what Rogers was really like, Howard had reexamined his memories of the war. The Howling Commandos had worked as a team mostly because all the other members except Rogers actually _had_ military training and experience, and were likely able to compensate for Rogers’s flaws. And everyone had been so taken in by Rogers’s charisma that they (including Howard) had not _seen_ those flaws. Once the man was dead, it became even easier to ignore the problems and build the legend around someone who was no longer there to mess it up by being human and imperfect. For people like Howard and Peggy, who had seen the ugliness of the war and its aftermath, having a beacon of goodness had seemed like salvation, something (someone) they could admire and be proud of, someone who hadn’t been involved in the worst of it.

“Dad?”

Howard pushed the memories aside to focus on his son. “Sorry, I just… drifted.”

“Yeah, it’s all right. It happens.”

Not wanting to return to maudlin thoughts, Howard decided he needed a distraction. “We could kill the time until Maria gets back in the workshop,” he suggested.

“Yeah, sure.”

It was always fun to hang out in the workshop with Tony and talk about technology and their latest projects. They could have done this before if Howard hadn’t been such a shitty father… _Don’t focus too much on the past. Learn from it and move forward_. That was what his therapist kept telling him. Some days were easier than others.

“Boss, Mrs Stark has arrived,” Friday announced some time later while Howard and Tony were busy brainstorming a new engine.

“Oh, good. Tell her I want to talk to her. Uhm… at the penthouse?”

“She says she’ll take a quick shower and meet you there.”

“Thanks, Fri.”

Twenty minutes later they were all in Tony’s apartment to hear whatever it was he needed to tell them.

“Okay, so…” Tony began. “I’d like you guys to meet another one of my AI kids, one I thought was gone forever. Jarvis, say hello to my parents.”

“Greetings, Mr and Mrs Stark.” The voice sounded like Vision.

“Guys, this is Jarvis. During the Ultron mess he was… damaged. Part of his code went into Vision – that’s why they sound alike – and I was unable to get him back. Until now.”

“What about Friday?” Maria asked. Howard was still trying to wrap his head around a _Jarvis_ – but not _his_ Jarvis – being here.

“Boss has said me and big bro can share duties, Mrs Stark. Assisting Boss is a big job,” Friday replied.

“Friday is correct, Mrs Stark. She and I will be working together from now on.”

It was odd to hear Vision’s voice coming from the room’s speakers, Howard kept expecting the android to appear.

“Yeah,” Tony said. “We’re a family and there’s room for everyone.” He then proceeded to explain to them how he’d brought Jarvis back – using the Soul Stone – and the discussion he’d had with the Avengers afterwards.

 _That’s why Strange was here_ , Howard thought. _Because of the Stone_.

“So,” Tony finished, “now everyone is up to date.”

Howard didn’t know what he was supposed to say to all of that. He had no problem with Tony getting his AI kid back, but… _Jarvis_. How could Howard use that name and not remember the friend he’d lost? The voice wasn’t the same – it would have been really weird if Vision had had Edwin Jarvis’s voice – yet it still felt… wrong. _Tony should have named his AI something else_ , he thought. And that was another thing Howard didn’t know how to feel about – obviously Tony had used that name to honor Jarvis’s memory, because Jarvis had been important to him. Because Edwin Jarvis had been a better father than Howard. That wasn’t news to him, of course, but after all these months trying to make up for all his mistakes with his son, it kinda felt like being back on square one, once again being told he wasn’t good enough. He was lacking and Jarvis was the one who got it right.

“Dad?”

Howard snapped out of his morose thoughts – he seemed to be doing that a lot today – to find Tony looking at him expectantly. Right, he should say something. “Fine. It’s fine.”

Tony didn’t seem convinced, frowning in suspicion.

“It’s…” Howard started, then trailed off.

“We’re very happy you got your friend back, honey. It will just take us a while to get used to the name,” Maria said, saving Howard from having to fumble his way through an explanation he wasn’t sure he could articulate. (Though it wasn’t just the name, not for him.)

“Oh, right. I didn’t think of that.”

“We just… we miss the Jarvis we knew,” Maria continued. “For us it hasn’t been that long.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

There was a rather awkward silence after that, with no one knowing what to say. Tony looked lost in thought and Maria gave Howard a helpless shrug.

It still amazed Howard that Tony had been able to build true AIs – in his time, the concept had been nothing more than sci-fi fantasy. He’d built not just one but two fully functional AIs who, apart from not having a physical body, were virtually indistinguishable from living people. Howard didn’t know what this Jarvis was like, but Friday sounded just a like a young adult figuring out her place in the world – and Tony clearly loved her like a daughter. Just as he did his bots, Dum-E and U, who were like perpetual children in ‘mental’ develpoment. Howard had never really thought about grandchildren (he’d had enough problems being a father), yet he kind of was one now – and to non-human ‘children’ (there was still Vision, who also defined all categorization). Never in a million years would he have imagined this future.

It made sense that Tony would name his child after someone important to him. It just hurt that that someone hadn’t been Howard. (On the other hand, that would have been really weird now.)

 _This is not about you_ , Howard told himself. _It’s about Tony getting his kid back. You know a little of what that’s like, what a blessing it is_. Tony didn’t need to hear about Howard’s insecurities. That was what his therapist was for. Tony probably just wanted to have his family all together and getting along.

“I look forward to getting to know you, Jarvis,” Howard said. He was rewarded with a genuine smile from Tony.

Howard had screwed up in the past, but he was doing better. He _could_ do better – and he would. He’d learned, and was still learning, how to talk to be a father and how to live in this future. This was just one more thing to get used to.

He still missed his Jarvis, and likely always would, but he also thought Jarvis would be happy for him – and for Tony. _Proud_ of him, of them. Hopefully Howard could make his son and grandson proud too.

**Author's Note:**

> I debated whether I should put this as part of "Stark Family Moments" or as a separate story. I finally decided on a separate story because I'll likely do one more chapter with reactions from everyone on Jarvis's resurrection, though I've marked it as complete for now because the story stands as it is and because I don't know when the second chapter will come and didn't want to leave people waiting.


End file.
